14th of Spring, 506AV
The late morning sun was over head, leaving only a sliver of a shadow from the wall. Atop the wall a lanky child stuck her arms out like a scarecrow. Slowly and without ease, she put one foot in front of the other. The brick wall where she walked was thin and high, but would soon change its structure. The bricks wobbled between the child's bare feet. The wall made no sound below her but threatened to spit one of the red blocks out, sending the girl down below. If she didn't meet death, she would meet pain. Maybe she would learn the consequences of her reckless adventure after her bones lay shattered between her muscles and veins. Her heart beat would grow fainter, but the pool that would surround her would swell until it could swell no more, inviting vultures down for a midday feast. But maybe Lhex would not make that decision. Maybe he would let her continue, make it to the other side, where the structure of the wall changed, like the city it surrounded. She was only a few steps away from the lower section, where the wall was wider and the grass surrounding it was softer. That was where Lhex chose her path. Today the little girl that belonged to the desert, her mixed blood was not meant to be spilled that day. Lhex would not place her under Dira's care anytime soon.
It had become a problem for Lani. Boredom. She had stopped eating, and that was never good. Even if it was scraps snuck from the market, or the occasional wild onion, it was more food than her Konti mother was willing to give her, and never enough to feed her stomach. She couldn't look in mirrors, she feared the worse, and although Lani didn't know it, she was right. Her sucken cheeks and grey skin was that of an old lady, not a sprouting child. After leaving Lhavit, R'yse seemed to forget about her. But the nine year old loved the Konti. She told lies of how much her mother loved her. The façade was not for anyone but herself. Any stranger could see that Lani needed to be taken away from R'yse. Any onlooker would know that R'yse was going crazy and Lani was proof. Riddled with bruises in various stages of healing and hair that was the current home of a colony of lice, the child looked like she had no home. But she did.
Black eyes drifted to the girls right, a small sense of fear welling in her heart. On the lowlands of Kalea, trees scattered across the hills in lumps, some places the forest was so thick you couldn't walk and others left no protection from the sky. In one of those clearings on the hills overlooking Ionu's city, was a tent. The white had turned a fowl yellow and the fire was dangerously close, always burning. Always burning. A ping turned the child's face away, the chill of the brick below her bare toes was beginning to seep into her skin. She wanted to do something. Lani knew that if she decided to, she could adventure the ever-changing city in front of her. But she couldn't. She didn't think she could do anything ever again. It was as if her heart was replaced with a stone, weighing down her brain and her limbs. She wondered if she fell would she ever stop?
Her eyes looked below her, to a house that wasn't there before. A wind chime rested on the porch, and the backyard had a few chicken coops. Lani's eyes grazed the small property. She didn't bother to wonder why it was there now when it wasn't before. What she was thinking about was eggs. If this person had this many chicken coops, they could spare a few eggs for a starving child, couldn't they? Yes, they could. Lani told herself, crouching so that she could sit on the wall. Stretching her legs down, she held her torso on the wall with wobbly arms. When she was confident, she could make the jump, she let herself fall.
Thunk.
Lani landed on the top of the wood shingled roof, feeling the solid wood crack underneath her. Wincing, Lani turned to look at the house. Two windows faced her, curtains half covering their judgmental eyes. As carefully as the weak girl could, she eased herself into a more comfortable position, sliding off the shingles and landing in the soft grass of the yard. She sat there for a moment, her hands idly picking at the grass, to catch her breathe. Her mouth began to salivate as she thought about how much the raw protein of the eggs could do for her. The risks of eating them raw didn't cross the child's mind, she knew nothing about the risks, she only knew that if she could eat cooked eggs she would find a way to eat raw eggs.
Forcing herself to her feet, Lani looked into the chicken coop. Chickens! Lani didn't know what else to expect, but the sight brought out a toothy grin from the child. Some teeth were missing, and others were yellow, Lani didn't focus on her hygiene when more important things needed attention. Her stomach yelped to remind her of its need, and Lani fiddled with the latch on the coop. Opening the door, she stuck her head inside first, peering around the dimly lip opening. Inches away was an egg. And another. And another ... Before Lani could count them, she slipped her hand in the small room, ignoring the curious chickens and grabbed two eggs. Lani must've been too excited, an unfortunate flaw, because as she pulled her hand out, she felt the warm ooze drip down her fingers. She cracked an egg. Despair welled inside her and she looked back at the chicken coop. Between the four chickens, there were four eggs. She had taken two and wasted one. It wasn't Lani's intention to take all of this person's eggs ...
Lani turned her head again, forgetting that if she got caught in the act of theft she could be in serious trouble. But as she scanned the windows, her eyes caught on the two other chicken coops. Why would someone have multiple chicken coops instead of one big chicken house? How many chickens did this person need anyway? Dropping the shell on the ground, Lani headed for the next one. Her hunger was keeping her from being silent, she wasn't watching her surroundings. Lani wiped her slimy hand on her loose pants, hooking her finger on the belt loop and yanking the trousers up one time wiggling her bony hips between the fabric so that it held for another few minutes. Before undoing the latch, Lani made sure her other egg carefully cradled in her right hand.
Before she had a chance to look in the coop, a hand landed on her shoulder. A shriek flew from her mouth, and Lani turned to look at who had scared her. Dread pulled the corners of her mouth down, she was preparing for a beating. "Why're ya here, doll?"
The man behind her was older, his face had began to fold, handing loose over his thin frame. Prominent brown human eyes bore down on her, but there was no emotion of anger that Lani could find, in fact there was no emotion at all. The straight forward question threw Lani off guard. "I-I was hungry ... Sir." Lani gulped, turning her head back down. She closed her eyes shut, waiting for the yelling, waiting for the pain. But instead his hand was on hers. The egg was taken from her hand before she could protest.
"You shouldn't steal, doll... I'm not going to tell you that you don't need to, but you shouldn't" The emotionless eyes glanced from her colorless ones, which he had yet to react to, to her mass of tangled black hair. "You do need to steal." He said, which confused Lani, if she needed to steal, why couldn't she? "I would invite you in, my momma raised me right, but I don't know the last time you took yourself a shower, and I don't wanna risk anything of you coming into my house. I ain't gonna offer you food neither, you gonna have to earn that. But I will help you take some of that hair off, and I'll give you some soap to wash yourself." Lani's hand flew to her head, she had never had a haircut! She didn't want one either. She grimaced, her hair wound up in nearly ten braids just to keep it from slapping her bum when she walked. She shook her head at the man.
"No, no, no! Please don't cut all my hair off! No, Sir, please no!" Tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. She didn't actually care about her hair, he could shave her scalp and get rid of the crunchy insects that made their home there once and for all, Lani would appreciate it. But her nerves were on end, she was experiencing her first season of starvation, with many more to come if her life continued as it was. She had only seen her adopted mother be so cruel to her once. She loved the woman, but the child was not equipped to deal with her abusive nature or psychotic episodes. Before Lani knew it, she was crying. Sobs turned into hiccups and the child desperately tried to wipe her face with her sleeve, embarrassed.
"Don't ya start that." A crack sounded in the man's voice, and she heard the crack of the egg in the grass. She wasn't sure which the snap had come from, the slim shell of the egg or the human who stood before her. The precious egg that could have been a meal for her, was gone. Dropped. "Look, I'm not going to cut off all your hair okay? Just a little bit, not a lot. Just let me get you washed up. Please stop crying, I don't do well around tears."
It had become a problem for Lani. Boredom. She had stopped eating, and that was never good. Even if it was scraps snuck from the market, or the occasional wild onion, it was more food than her Konti mother was willing to give her, and never enough to feed her stomach. She couldn't look in mirrors, she feared the worse, and although Lani didn't know it, she was right. Her sucken cheeks and grey skin was that of an old lady, not a sprouting child. After leaving Lhavit, R'yse seemed to forget about her. But the nine year old loved the Konti. She told lies of how much her mother loved her. The façade was not for anyone but herself. Any stranger could see that Lani needed to be taken away from R'yse. Any onlooker would know that R'yse was going crazy and Lani was proof. Riddled with bruises in various stages of healing and hair that was the current home of a colony of lice, the child looked like she had no home. But she did.
Black eyes drifted to the girls right, a small sense of fear welling in her heart. On the lowlands of Kalea, trees scattered across the hills in lumps, some places the forest was so thick you couldn't walk and others left no protection from the sky. In one of those clearings on the hills overlooking Ionu's city, was a tent. The white had turned a fowl yellow and the fire was dangerously close, always burning. Always burning. A ping turned the child's face away, the chill of the brick below her bare toes was beginning to seep into her skin. She wanted to do something. Lani knew that if she decided to, she could adventure the ever-changing city in front of her. But she couldn't. She didn't think she could do anything ever again. It was as if her heart was replaced with a stone, weighing down her brain and her limbs. She wondered if she fell would she ever stop?
Her eyes looked below her, to a house that wasn't there before. A wind chime rested on the porch, and the backyard had a few chicken coops. Lani's eyes grazed the small property. She didn't bother to wonder why it was there now when it wasn't before. What she was thinking about was eggs. If this person had this many chicken coops, they could spare a few eggs for a starving child, couldn't they? Yes, they could. Lani told herself, crouching so that she could sit on the wall. Stretching her legs down, she held her torso on the wall with wobbly arms. When she was confident, she could make the jump, she let herself fall.
Thunk.
Lani landed on the top of the wood shingled roof, feeling the solid wood crack underneath her. Wincing, Lani turned to look at the house. Two windows faced her, curtains half covering their judgmental eyes. As carefully as the weak girl could, she eased herself into a more comfortable position, sliding off the shingles and landing in the soft grass of the yard. She sat there for a moment, her hands idly picking at the grass, to catch her breathe. Her mouth began to salivate as she thought about how much the raw protein of the eggs could do for her. The risks of eating them raw didn't cross the child's mind, she knew nothing about the risks, she only knew that if she could eat cooked eggs she would find a way to eat raw eggs.
Forcing herself to her feet, Lani looked into the chicken coop. Chickens! Lani didn't know what else to expect, but the sight brought out a toothy grin from the child. Some teeth were missing, and others were yellow, Lani didn't focus on her hygiene when more important things needed attention. Her stomach yelped to remind her of its need, and Lani fiddled with the latch on the coop. Opening the door, she stuck her head inside first, peering around the dimly lip opening. Inches away was an egg. And another. And another ... Before Lani could count them, she slipped her hand in the small room, ignoring the curious chickens and grabbed two eggs. Lani must've been too excited, an unfortunate flaw, because as she pulled her hand out, she felt the warm ooze drip down her fingers. She cracked an egg. Despair welled inside her and she looked back at the chicken coop. Between the four chickens, there were four eggs. She had taken two and wasted one. It wasn't Lani's intention to take all of this person's eggs ...
Lani turned her head again, forgetting that if she got caught in the act of theft she could be in serious trouble. But as she scanned the windows, her eyes caught on the two other chicken coops. Why would someone have multiple chicken coops instead of one big chicken house? How many chickens did this person need anyway? Dropping the shell on the ground, Lani headed for the next one. Her hunger was keeping her from being silent, she wasn't watching her surroundings. Lani wiped her slimy hand on her loose pants, hooking her finger on the belt loop and yanking the trousers up one time wiggling her bony hips between the fabric so that it held for another few minutes. Before undoing the latch, Lani made sure her other egg carefully cradled in her right hand.
Before she had a chance to look in the coop, a hand landed on her shoulder. A shriek flew from her mouth, and Lani turned to look at who had scared her. Dread pulled the corners of her mouth down, she was preparing for a beating. "Why're ya here, doll?"
The man behind her was older, his face had began to fold, handing loose over his thin frame. Prominent brown human eyes bore down on her, but there was no emotion of anger that Lani could find, in fact there was no emotion at all. The straight forward question threw Lani off guard. "I-I was hungry ... Sir." Lani gulped, turning her head back down. She closed her eyes shut, waiting for the yelling, waiting for the pain. But instead his hand was on hers. The egg was taken from her hand before she could protest.
"You shouldn't steal, doll... I'm not going to tell you that you don't need to, but you shouldn't" The emotionless eyes glanced from her colorless ones, which he had yet to react to, to her mass of tangled black hair. "You do need to steal." He said, which confused Lani, if she needed to steal, why couldn't she? "I would invite you in, my momma raised me right, but I don't know the last time you took yourself a shower, and I don't wanna risk anything of you coming into my house. I ain't gonna offer you food neither, you gonna have to earn that. But I will help you take some of that hair off, and I'll give you some soap to wash yourself." Lani's hand flew to her head, she had never had a haircut! She didn't want one either. She grimaced, her hair wound up in nearly ten braids just to keep it from slapping her bum when she walked. She shook her head at the man.
"No, no, no! Please don't cut all my hair off! No, Sir, please no!" Tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. She didn't actually care about her hair, he could shave her scalp and get rid of the crunchy insects that made their home there once and for all, Lani would appreciate it. But her nerves were on end, she was experiencing her first season of starvation, with many more to come if her life continued as it was. She had only seen her adopted mother be so cruel to her once. She loved the woman, but the child was not equipped to deal with her abusive nature or psychotic episodes. Before Lani knew it, she was crying. Sobs turned into hiccups and the child desperately tried to wipe her face with her sleeve, embarrassed.
"Don't ya start that." A crack sounded in the man's voice, and she heard the crack of the egg in the grass. She wasn't sure which the snap had come from, the slim shell of the egg or the human who stood before her. The precious egg that could have been a meal for her, was gone. Dropped. "Look, I'm not going to cut off all your hair okay? Just a little bit, not a lot. Just let me get you washed up. Please stop crying, I don't do well around tears."
PC/NPC Talking -- Kontinese -- Common -- Thoughts
